#Zero Effort we die like men.
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There’s a reason they call him Bucky with the Good Hair ™
Reblogs are loved but please don’t repost!
#cap quartet#Bucky Barnes#Steve Rogers#natasha romanov#Sam Wilson#bucky with the good hair#Brooklyn 99#mink draws#mink post#Products of Insomnia#Zero Effort we die like men.
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[MK1] Bi-Han & Kuai Liang. Good brother? Evil brother? Nah, just different reactions to trauma, part 1
Author's note: the first part is not directly focused on Kuai Liang and Bi-Han as characters but at the worldbuilding, our knowledge about Lin Kuei and tradition that shaped Sub-Zero & Scorpion, and Liu Kang's acceptance of things as they are.
Lately it feels like Lin Kuei fandom split into either Bi-Han’s supporters or Kuai Liang’s supporters and the dispute over who is a good brother and who is not is an ongoing issue. This is greatly upsetting because both men have their share of flaws that sometimes fans exaggerate to demonize one or another. For me though, the brotherly conflict is not about who is good and who is bad, not even who is right and who is wrong, but about how two men groomed since childhood to be a living weapon deal with the trauma in totally opposite ways. As in, one is rebelling against the tradition and the other willing to uphold the system.
With Smoke, the adoptive yet no less traumatized brother, stuck in the middle of that.
Bi-Han and Kuai Liang being survivors of a great psychological and physical abuse is the most true for previous timelines, however hear me out - just because Lin Kuei falls now under Liu Kang’s authority it does not automatically erase the possibility of both brothers experiencing things that no child should. To better illustrate my point, let’s take a moment and look at the Empress Sindel and Umgadi system.
Sindel in general is presented as the ruler who does not seek an open conflict with Earthrealm and whom Liu Kang openly admires. As Fire Lord said himself, Sindel was destined to “rule Outworld firmly, but fairly” and it is her rule that brings peace to the otherwise conflicted Outworld
Liu Kang, story mode: Its past has been difficult. Though the last thousand years of Empress Sindel's reign have been a true golden age... the memories of that strife still linger.
and
Sindel's Bio: Her early reign marked the start of a new Golden Age.
That is what the character's Bio and the main story mode outright says or implies about Sindel.
But then intro dialogues bring a different side of the beloved Queen. The people infected by Tarkat illness are exiled, their property confiscated by Sindel’s edict
Kitana: When you became ill, your assets were taken?
Baraka: As required by your mother's edict, Princess.
and in result forced to slowly die in poverty far away from healthy citizens. Those who sympathize with suffering infected people and won’t “report them for quarantine” are treated like criminals, as was seen when Li Mei and her men disrupted the Royal Family’s procession while leading arrested and tied up people.
The bad treatment of infected people, according to Mileena and Baraka endings, will improve thanks to the new Empress, who not only reaches a hand to suffering but would go so far to reveal her own illness to reduce social stigma against the sick. Mileena is seen as hot-headed, violent and not the best material for a Queen compared to Sindel, the supposed wise and kind ruler or even compared to her younger sister, Kitana. But it is the brash Empress that would actually make an effort to change her Empire for better.
Similar things can be said about the Umgadi system, which forces Outworld families to give up their first-born daughters for a training that will turn their children into living weapons to uphold the Royal Family’s rule
Liu Kang, story mode: Umgadi, like Tanya, are warrior priestesses... Selected from the first born daughters of Outworld. From infancy, they are trained to defend the royal family."
The daughters in question will never know their biological family or where they were born to ensure their absolute loyalty to the Royal Family, even though not every candidate will finish their training. Once they obtain the title of Umgadi, they can’t marry or be in a relationship, we have no idea if they even are paid anything for their service. So far Li Mei is the only known woman to leave Umgadi, and she did so due to the death of Sindel’s husband for which she was unfairly blamed. And again, the tie-in material implies that the change to Umgadi system will happen because of Mileena, who is willing to reform an organization that is deeply rooted in Edenian tradition, not the “kind and good” Queen Sindel.
So just because a character is set on the Good Guys Side, it does not mean the said character is crystally good with no flaw at all or that breaking up with tradition is inherently evil, because the tradition alone is just a system of beliefs, practices or behaviors established in the past and passed down from one generation to another within a group of people or society and not a determinant of being good or bad.
Now, the important thing - Umgadi and Lin Kuei are very similar organizations. The similarities are especially true for old timeline(s) Lin Kuei, as we have more or less idea how training adepts looked through the ages. However, what we learned through sources about Liu Kang’s version of the clan still brings a lot of parallels to Umgadi - and I think we all can agree that objective speaking, the Umgadi system is very unfair to first-born daughters and benefits only the Royal Family.
Through the story mode and intro dialogues, Liu Kang does not question the nature of the Umgadi system. Quite the opposite, the intro between Geras and Tanya suggests that Umgadi was Liu Kang’s innovation
Geras: The Umgadi was one of Liu Kang’s best innovations.
Tanya: My order sprung from his mind?
A man who does not see anything wrong with enrolling little girls into never-ending servitude to the Royal Family, logically thinking, won't question the process of making Lin Kuei warriors nor the nature of their duty.
In previous timelines, Bi-Han and Kuai Liang as children were kidnapped and forced into the life of assassins by their own father (original timeline) or unspecified Lin Kuei member, presumably grandfather (alternative timeline). Their choice was to adapt to this hardship or die and so they survived and both became great warriors on their own. The fandom has been torn about their brotherhood for years, as if Bi-Han was a good brother or not. Personally, I do not think this was even a matter of one brother being inherently good and another inherently evil, as both men are the result of the abusive environment in which they grew up. And I truly can’t stress this enough - Bi-Han and Kuai Liang were survivors of great abuse and pathology more than anything else.
Now, in Liu Kang’s timeline Bi-Han and Kuai Liang were born into a place of power, as both are sons of Grandmaster. Sub-Zero as the oldest was meant to inherit the leadership once his father would pass away, or possibly abdicate. So in theory, Fire Lord improved the living of both brothers. However, the same as the previous, both men weren’t given a choice, as Lin Kuei clan is bound to serve Earthrealm while their existence is kept in secret.
Liu Kang said: “The Lin Kuei is a centuries old clan dedicated to Earthrealm’s defense” while Sub-Zero’s Bio adds “As the Lin Kuei's Grandmaster, Sub-Zero leads his ancient warrior clan in the defense of Earthrealm from external threats. For centuries, it has been their solemn task” and this is the tradition that will define the whole life of Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. Because they, as sons of Grandmaster, were expected to uphold and continue that service.
We do not have a full picture of how Lin Kuei daily life or training looks like in Liu Kang’s timeline, but the sources give some idea. And so we have an examples from story mode
Scorpion to Kung Lao: We're trained differently. It takes years to master our ways."
and intro dialogues
Sub Zero: The Lin Kuei are trained from childhood.
confirming both brothers were prepared for their role as Earthrealm Defenders (Liu Kang’s Special Forces) since they were children. Scorpion’s words alone brings another vital clue, as “trained differently” is what distinguishes both brothers from Liu Kang’s chosen Champions. We could see a glimpse of that during the Lin Kuei mission in Ying Fortress, as both Sub-Zero and Scorpion did not hesitate to kill their enemy and Kuai Liang’s “fit of rage” illustrates well how brutal Lin Kuei can be in a fight.
As story mode and intro dialogues point out, Lin Kuei weren’t trained for the glorious yet honorable Mortal Kombat Tournament, as members of this clan have never been chosen to represent Earthrealm
Kitana: Why are Lin Kuei never Earthrealm champions?
Sub-Zero: So that Outworld doesn't lose every tournament.
but they were trained to eliminate any threat to Earthrealm’s safety, be it by killing or capturing those whose activity concerned Liu Kang. As could be seen with the Lin Kuei brothers mission to capture Shang Tsung.
Intro dialogue Sub-Zero vs Reiko adds another detail about process of making Lin Kuei warriors:
Sub-Zero: To kill, one must be cold-blooded.
Reiko: My veins are as iced as yours, Sub-Zero.
Thus we may assume Lin Kuei training was not just about a physical aspect but psychological one as well. Both brothers were prepared from childhood to kill - while that was never demanded from Earthrealm Champions. In story mode Liu Kang said:
“No tournament participant has ever been grievously injured or killed."
and
“I would never send my champions unwittingly into mortal kombat."
so I assume the reason Liu Kang send his Champions to search for Shang Tsung was A) threat of the sorcerer that wasn’t supposed to learn magic in the first place and B) they were in Outworld, so he couldn’t call for Lin Kuei without Sindel’s knowledge.
Another detail about Lin Kuei comes from Scorpion vs Nitara intro dialogue
Nitara: Had you ever known hunger, you wouldn't judge us.
Scorpion: I have, and I will.
and though we don’t have an idea if Kuai Liang was forced to endure hunger due to training - as happened in old version of Lin Kuei according to Mortal Kombat novel by Jeff Rovin:
Many young people died during training: some could not hold their breath for five minutes and drowned, others weren’t fast enough to avoid the weapons of the masters, some starved or froze or dehydrated when they were stranded, naked, in deserts or on mountaintops and told to make their way home. But those who survived were the Lin Kuei.
Or was that a reference to economic problems of Scorpion’s clan, which at some point faced so great famine that it touched even the son(s) of the ruling family. Whatever the case, it gives us a sense of hardship endured by Lin Kuei members.
This leads us to another detail - father’s teaching (tradition) mentioned by Kuai Liang and Tomas through the story mode:
Kuai Liang: Glory? We fight for duty.
and
Tomas: Our clan doesn't govern. It serves.
while intro dialogues adds
Raiden: The Lin Kuei won't be allowed to govern.
Sub-Zero: We will not be frozen out, Raiden.
Furthermore it is important to note that every Liu Kang’s Champion had their own life outside the fighting - Johnny was an actor, Kung Lao and Raiden were farmers, Kenshi was Yakuza on path to redemption and saving his clan. Lin Kuei? Not so much, as Bi-Han’s Bio points out Sub-Zero leads his ancient warrior clan in the defense of Earthrealm from external threats. For centuries, it has been their solemn task.
After the Tournament, the Champions easily will return to their life - in the case of Johnny, benefit greatly by making his own movies based on the events, while the Lin Kuei would come back to the never ending training in preparation to defend Earthrealm and repeating the cycle by pushing their children into the same service. And it would go like that for generations, if not for the Titan Shang Tsung’s meddling that interrupted the “natural” order of things.
Let’s establish another thing - namely Lin Kuei duty in recent centuries.
Sub-Zero’s Bio suggest the Earthrealm hasn’t be threatened in generations:
But Earthrealm hasn’t been threatened in generations, and Sub-Zero sees no point in limiting his clan to preparing for dangers that may never come. Under his leadership, the Lin Kuei will come out of the shadows and fight for its place as one of Earthrealm’s great nations.
This lack of need to dispatch Lin Kuei to eliminate threat is supported by intro dialogues:
Reptile: The battle against the sorcerers was your first real fight.
Smoke: It was a baptism by fire, Syzoth.
and
Kenshi: How is it you haven't been to Outworld?
Scorpion: Earthrealm's defense has never required it.
However Bi-Han alone suggest something else:
Story mode: After years of idleness, it pleases me to again face kombat."
And so do the information about their mother:
Sindel: Both your parents were excellent fighters.
Scorpion: I can only hope to live up to their example.
Sindel in another intro says, she knew the previous Grandmaster
Sindel: I knew your father. He was a great man.
Sub-Zero: Yet he never understood the Lin Kuei's potential.
So I think it is safe to assume Sindel was familiar enough with Bi-Han and Kuai Liang’s mother to praise her skills and is not just praising her out of politeness. But the thing is, Kitana’s intro confirms the Lin Kuei warriors weren’t chosen for the Mortal Kombat Tournament, so how did Sindel know if their mother was an excellent fighter? That to me suggests she either witnessed it outside the Tournament or it was reported to her and the latter may imply Bi-Han’s mother took part in eliminating the threat on Liu Kang’s order, maybe even in Outworld. We know from source material that Outworlders do not tolerate Earthrealm’s unauthorized activity on their land. However in the story mode alone, Sindel herself admitted that Liu Kang’s “interventions have kept Outworld at peace for centuries”
while the vast tie-in material agrees that Sindel’s Court is full of intrigues and dangers - both to the Queen and her daughters. So, if Liu Kang is a close friend of King Jerrod and Queen Sindel, it doesn’t feel that far stretched to think Lin Kuei could be dispatched to ensure the Royal Family's - and in greater perspective - Earthrealm’s safety.
Now, if there was no need for Lin Kuei service in the latest generations, why a woman
considered to be an excellent fighter - thus presumably in great shape
who also happens to be wife of Grandmaster - thus presumably having access to the best medical care the clan could offer
died in some unspecified time before main story happened? That doesn’t sound like a natural death, as Bi-Han and Kuai Liang are what? In their 30s at the worst? Which gives the chance she was a middle-aged woman, not an old person who dies out of age. The Grandmaster alone, also an excellent fighter, died in an accident, though story mode does not tell us what kind of accident it was supposed to be. Did it happen on a hunting trip? During mission on Liu Kang’s order?
So again, for a supposedly peaceful time, it seems like Kuai Liang and Tomas are those who did not have much part in Lin Kuei activity - in contrast to Bi-Han and presumably their parents.
Going further, the sources claims Lin Kuei clan is dedicated to defend Earthrealm from external threats, and indeed Lin Kuei warriors fought against vampires (Nitara’s people)
Bi-Han, story mode: As a boy I heard tales of battles against your kind. I had thought them tall ones.
and apparently their might is know in Outworld
General Shao: Finally, the chance to test the Lin Kuei's mettle.
Sub-Zero: It will end with your humiliation.
However Lin Kuei apparently took part in solving the internal problems too, if Sub-Zero vs Kenshi dialogue is something to go by:
Kenshi: My ancestors say they've tangled with yours.
Sub-Zero: Has it occurred to you to ask them why?
For a quick summary, through the sources, we learn that Lin Kuei:
were meant to serve, not govern
trained from childhood not just to be an excellent fighters but to be capable of killing
do not have a life outside their duty the way Earthrealm Champions do
endured hardship (hunger)
each generation is trained to perform their duty
and presumably, even in supposedly peaceful times, the fighters may not survive to an old age nor die in a natural way (the fate of mother and Grandmaster).
So I think that objectively speaking, we can agree that Lin Kuei does not benefit much from its service to Earthrealm, while Liu Kang got an excellent Special Forces that kept Earthrealm safe for centuries.
[Next part] Bi-Han and Kuai Liang and how Lin Kuei training affected who they are.
#mortal kombat#lin kuei#kuai liang#bi han#sub zero#scorpion#liu kang#sindel#umgadi#sorry for the introduction to worldbuilding through sindel and umgadi but this is the best example#why characters being on good side shouldn't mean they have never wronged others#and why being a lin kuei is not an easy thing#even in liu kang's timeline
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* JEALOUS
pairing: aemond targaryen x fem!reader
summary: aemond couldn't stand how you danced with other men.
contains: nsfw, handjob, dirty talk, possessive behavior, drinking, toxic relationship, sub/dom aemond/reader respectively.
author’s note: we h word and what about it,,, i love my babygirl hehe,,, enjoy and remember english isn't my first language <3 also no beta like always, we die like men :*
aemond scowled, his gaze glued to your body.
you were teasing him from afar dancing with another man, swaying in somebody else’s arms that weren’t his. his gaze hardened, the hands of the other man were dangerously approaching territory they weren’t allowed and aemond started fuming.
you didn’t belong to him, he had to understand that.
after a few cups of dornish wine, you went directly to the dance floor by yourself. the celebrations of aegon's coronation were extraordinarily loud and messy, and so were you.
aemond tried his best to keep his thoughts to himself and not cause a scene, but you were making it very difficult. the way you danced around those men who weren't keeping their hands to themselves made aemond seethe in his uncomfortable seat.
your father the last few weeks kept telling you this was the instance to find a good man to marry and join houses, but he didn't specify how so you took some liberties for his request.
aemond has known you since you two were kids, your father had just become the newest member of the court, the new master of coin, so you were around aemond very often growing up. you two became close just right after the incident where his nephew took his eye, you took care of him when he came back from driftmark wounded and scared. you were just a year older than him, so he took comfort in your arms when he felt he couldn't bear it any longer.
but that didn't matter at all, because you two grew apart with the years. being a teenager was hard for aemond, constantly suffering bad treatment from his older brother or his grandfather, the hand of the king.
you tried to make your friendship work with him as a teenager, but he gave you the cold shoulder, almost completely ignoring you in any way he could, so you accepted it and moved on with your life without him, living almost two chambers over him.
you grew to be the most astonishing woman aemond has laid his eyes on, but just the one he couldn't have for himself.
it was obvious he had feelings for you since you two were kids, he did his best to avoid and ignore them but you always popped up when he least expect it.
like right now, when you revealed to your friends (he wasn't stalking you, ok) that your father had put you on a mission to get a husband that exact night, he saw red but had to keep it to himself.
so there you were, dancing drunk with some unknown lord with aemond's gaze glued on you.
after a few songs and more men surrounding you, he had enough of your bullshit, standing up from his seat and walking towards you quickly.
he grabbed you by the arm and pulled you out of the circle you had formed for yourself, dragging you out of the room and into a hallway.
“hey! what are you doing?” you barked, getting angry. “let go of me right now, prince aemond.” his grip on your arm tightened as he cornered you against the wall, pressing his body against yours.
okay, he had been drinking too.
“are you really selling yourself to please your father?” he growled in your ear, a possessive tone slipping away from his control.
you smirked, “so this is what it took to make you jealous.”
“hm, was this your plan all along?” you nodded slightly, aemond buried his face in your neck, your right hand instinctively going up to his hair grabbing it roughly.
aemond felt stupid falling for you, always wrapped around your finger.
“did it work, my prince?” aemond groaned, grabbing your waist tightly, “i was actually going to stop trying since you made zero effort to notice me in the past,” you whispered in his ear, and he shivered.
how he could be so stupid? all your efforts to get him like this in the past got unnoticed by him... all the time he spent beating himself up for ignoring his feelings for you, you were all the time trying to get him worked up like this.
“of course, it fucking worked,” he spat, “you're mine.”
you laughed, grasping his hair and yanking it down. he let out a moan as he was facing you, your hand secured on his hair holding him in place. “no, you got it all wrong,” you got closer to his face, lips almost touching as you whispered possessively, “you're mine, my prince.”
as he was distracted by your hand pulling his hair, you got your other arm free from his grasp and went directly to his robes, caressing his lower stomach.
he panted, “what were you saying, my prince?” your grasp on his hair got tighter. “i will kill any girl that looks your way.” his eyes rolled back as you untied his pants skillfully, grabbing his now hard cock with your hand.
“maybe i'll let you show me off to the other lords, that's what you want, right?” he couldn't form proper sentences with your hand on his cock, “i know you aemond, i see you following me around, scaring off the lords that have the intention of proposing a marriage bond for me.”
your hand worked him up and down quickly, lubricating him with his own precum. “were you this hard when i was dancing with the other lords? were you imagining yourself touching me like they were? do you think i don't notice you?” he moaned, his hands running through your body as much as they could.
your words were hitting all the right spots in his mind as your hand worked on him, he was so close.
“are you going to cum for me, my prince?” he nodded, his eyes rolling back as he was about to combust. “do it then, cum all over your pants for me.”
his breathing quickened as he came gasping for air, his chest rising quickly, he felt his knees giving in but you were holding him until he could stand up properly.
your grip on his hair loosened, now caressing it, “now we are going to go back and excuse ourselves properly, then we are going to my chambers.” you kissed him deeply, “and don't worry, the only man i'm planning to marry is you, my prince.” he nodded, giving you a weak smile.
he had to make up for the time he lost somehow, right?
© all content belongs to @vermithorn. do not copy / plagiarize / repost or translate my work on any other platforms.
#aemond#aemond targaryen#tvrgvryen#aemond targaryen x female reader#aemond targaryen x reader#aemond targaryen x you#aemond targaryen smut#aemond targaryen imagine#house of the dragon#hotd#got#game of thrones#hotd x reader
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Here's some RE Separate Ways analysis that isn't about shipping because I like Ada. I'm happy her DLC actually focuses on her, but some of the takes I'm seeing are Insufferable. Main statements in bold for ease of reading and skipping purposes.
-Wesker and Ada haven't been working together consistently for the past 6 years. This dripless bitch is calling Ada every five minutes to babysit her. I don't think that's the relationship dynamic of someone you're regularly employed under, and when it is, Ada is not the type of character to tolerate that behavior for 6 years. We know Ada is a contract worker. We can understand she's worked for Wesker on and off, but she's a freelance agent period. She must've done enough jobs for Wesker that he feels the need to check on her and have this constant reporting in to make sure she stays on task since he's clearly used to her not always following his orders. He 100% hired her for this assignment because he knew the situation and compared to the other options, she had the highest survival chances. Which, he was right. High risk, high reward.
Sometimes Wesker's babysitting works: Ada holding Luis at gunpoint when he tries to negotiate saving Leon and Ashley. Sometimes he knows when to step away: "Keep your dog." All of it is in the effort to get what he wants. Look, he let her live. He worked with S.T.A.R.S for years and wanted them all dead. If he worked with Ada regularly and she pulled this shit with the amber, he would've had that helicopter blown out of the sky. There's always some restraint with personal distance, especially with a guy who thinks so highly of himself.
-Luis is a drama queen. In the regular game, Luis acts cool and under control to the best of his abilities around Leon and Ashley. It's a part of his newly found hero-complex even though he does still know when to ask for help: "save me prince charming!" In the DLC, we see the real side of Luis. The one who's scared, and dramatic, and knows when he's not shooting with a loaded gun so to speak. When Ada tells him to leave her to fight, he does. He wants to help, but his respect for her abilities sends him fleeing like she orders him to. Also, like every scientist, he has zero self-preservation! He ran into a fire that clearly would kill him to get medicine. And the exchange afterwards? "No! Now you'll all die!" "Make some more medicine." "Oh..yeah...I can do that. I do have that ability."
The flamenco dance. "Are you mad at me???🥺 You're mad at me!😭" This man understands Ada can kill him without blinking, but still can't keep his composure around her. This is such a fun dynamic to explore in fic for expansion stories and "Luis lives" au's. The DLC gives him breaks to freak out and panic, whereas the main game holds the "cool persona" moments after Leon saves him. Even his dying words to Ada. This man is bleeding to death and still can't shut up. I love him.
Okay, that's all I gotta say about the loser men. Now for the star of the DLC. Ada. :)
-Ada "Sans Undertale go into my eyes" Wong. The methods Ada uses in the DLC are fun and appropriate. It's not invasive and in your face unlike another agent, but more subtle. She can track footprints, fingerprints, gauge the safe distance required for her grappling hook, and she knows when she needs to fight and whens he needs to run. Her practicality has always been the cleanest of the entire cast due to her being a spy, but this time we actually get to see this trait utilized through her tools.
-Ada is silly and quips her own jokes to get through it. Something I'm not seeing anyone talk about including the aeon people who are claiming anything they can get, is this specific humor parallel between Leon and Ada in the remake. Both of them have gone through the horrors of Raccoon City. Both of them went right back into very difficult military in function style work which always has a body count. I talked about Leon's humor coping mechanism here [X], but to hear Ada do the same thing? I feel like they went under the radar because they don't sound as stupid as Leon's quips, but they are still so stupid. "Nighty night." "Lights out." "Bring me a real challenge next time." "Now look at the mess you've made." "You think that gun will be enough?" She and Leon even share the same "Next," line!
If I had 80GB to spare on the game, I'd see just how many more I could get out of her. Like, these are dumb as hell. She's found a method to cope with the horrors she's witnessing that just so happens to coincide with Leon's. I'm not saying this as a marker of whatever romance you've tossed them in or even to diss any other romances. What I am saying is that they have a similar type of mental illness resulting from trauma, and they ended up using the exact same coping method despite never seeing each other.
Ada fans who hate Leon! This opens a door for you when it comes to character analysis and how Ada deals with her PTSD and/or depression! Run through it RIGHT NOW!
-Ada's infection pulls a lot more weight than it seems. I've seen some people say Ada's parasite should've been removed the same as Leon's and Ashley's. (Which is an extremely unsubtle argument to get them all in the same room for your shipping nonsense.) However, something I noticed with the DLC were the parallels to the troubles in RE2. The Black Robe/U-3/Pesenta monster is the first time where we get to see Ada dealing with a stalking enemy. Due to RE4 being so much more plot-lined streamed to maintain the flow of gameplay, these events were not allowed to be random, but the narrative purpose remains. Ada gets to have a stalking enemy in her DLC like Claire and Leon did in RE2 with the addition of a hubris check.
The hubris check? Well, Ada has never been infected until this DLC. In the original games, she can step back and watch people die because she doesn't know what it feels like. Now she knows what it feels like. The lack of control. The pain. The slow turning. Her job has had her flirting with death for years, but not in a way she can't fiddle with the odds. A parasite is not something a person can distract with words. The action to steal the amber is backed up via personal experience not just a morality code slapped on. The addition of Wesker's correction to "billions of causalities" means she's included in that number and just cements her incentive to flee. She's not doing this for Leon. She's not doing this for Luis. She's doing this for herself, and if it so happens to help other people then it is what it is. After being on both sides of the coin when it comes to viruses, she can no longer function as entirely impartial to the work she's doing.
-Ada doesn't ask for permission but asks for forgiveness. Don't take this phrasing literally. She doesn't ask Wesker to forgive her. What this means is that she'll do something before asking, and if it upsets people then she'll course correct. Her job is not the kind of job where she needs to take orders for every action she implements which is why Wesker calling every five minutes was annoying as hell. In the OG RE4 she kind of argues with Wesker for Leon to live for "his usefulness", but it's swiftly shut down until it's convenient to Wesker for Leon to live. This forces her to sneak around and betray Wesker multiple times to save Leon secretly, and the concept rightfully gets thrown into the garbage for the remake DLC.
The scene in the bedroom where Wesker tells Ada not to become a liability after taking her blood? Ada doesn't fight to get her shit back. Some people said this was flirting. Wrong. This is Ada seeking forgiveness after the fuck up of passing out in the middle of an active field by letting Wesker walk off with an infection sample. She then makes sure not to fuck up a second time in the same way, and she doesn't. She learns the signs of her parasite so in case she does pass out again, she'll be somewhere much less conspicuous. She listens for the changes in her environment and the feelings in her body and prepares herself for what's next.
-Ada saves Leon and Ashley for Luis' sake. I stated earlier that Ada's action to take the amber was for her own sake but ends up helping others. This is the exact situation going on when Luis talks about getting the suppressant. She needs the suppressant in order to do her job and kill the black robe so she can heal. It just so happens that Leon and Ashley need the suppressant for survival reasons too. They are an afterthought until Luis dies.
We watch Ada question Wesker and his plans all throughout this DLC, and she comes to her own conclusions after her experience working with him. She could've gotten the amber back and let the whole place blow into smithereens like Wesker intended. Who cares about the president's daughter? Who cares about another dead federal agent? Luis did. He cared so much he died for it, and just like that other clown in Raccoon City (aka her), she got emotionally attached. If there was anything she could've done for Luis to make his death mean something, it was this act.
-Ada sells Leon's jacket. This isn't analysis, but I thought this was funny as hell. ACAB! No exceptions! Freeze your tiddies off, Leon! I don't give a shit!
-Ada's new outfit is still better than her old one. It's still not the best they could've given her. I'm also not speaking from a fashion point of view when I say this. In the OG RE4 we see Leon in a jacket which is forcibly removed to show off his pecs to the ladies, but it clearly marks a colder time of year. OG RE4 Ada has arms out, legs out, and tits out because a hoe never gets cold. The sweater dress for the remake re-establishes that it's colder here because even Luis doesn't lose his jacket. Ashley doesn't lose her jacket either until they yoink it off her for ritual reasons. I still hate that the thigh high boots have that heel and would prefer the flats, but that's going to be in the complaint paragraph below.
-Capcom sexism at play once again. I don't give a shit about rigs and motion capture or whatever, her walk cycle was 2 adjustments from being full Bayonetta, and I hate it. The ass shots? Disrespectful. Her heels didn't have to be that high. Never heard of a kitten heel? They exist. The people who worked on RE3 Remake and worked on this DLC sure love to make a woman vomit don't they? Why the fuck was she so clean the entire game? She was being thrown around and tossed in the dirt a lot, but this woman's skin is shinier than a waxed apple. Either she has some wet wipes on hand, or god forbid women get filthy. Absolutely zero reason she shouldn't have been looking as rough as Leon by the time she gets on the helicopter! No reason at all!
That's all they wrote! I love Ada. I loved this DLC, and I loved the dynamics going on here even though I hated every time Wesker was on screen or opened his mouth at all.
As much as I would love to expand this post and go further into the changed Ada and Leon relationship, I frankly hate all the takes I've been seeing so much on either side of the Aeon debate. I hate the ongoing conversation around it so much that I don't know if I want to discuss this at all. The Aeon should've gotten this if not for Luis and Ashley side and the Aeon is dead side going back and forth with each other? All of you put on your clown noses! None of you are looking at this situation objectively to see where the lines cross and where they run alongside each other, and frankly I'm tired! I could clear this whole table off so both of you can get exactly what you want based on what you're not actually interpreting from this media, but I won't! Kill each other!
#resident evil#re#separate ways#separate ways dlc#ada wong#albert wesker#luis serra#luis sera navarro#leon kennedy#re analysis#re4 remake#i wont tag this with ship names cause im nice but i was so tempted to be mean like ada <3
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I enjoyed your OFMD meta so much, I wondered your opinion on the symbolism of oranges in that show and in Goncharov — I mean, when Katya tries to win over Goncharov by taking him on a tour of the Moscow subways, and sends her gang of thugs to buy oranges from that “babushka” — I’m not imagining the parallel in OFMD, am I?
first off thank you, and second: absolutely! we already know david came in with movies like butch cassidy in mind and imo there is absolutely zero chance david and co didn’t see goncharov, too. the thematic overlap zones and then ultimate subversion on the meaning of the film is way too close to be coincidental.
forgive me for going a little broader before i focus on the katya and goncharov courtship flashbacks, because i really am over the moon about the connections here and how the ofmd writers repurpose old themes and storylines only to steer them in entirely new directions.
in goncharov we’ve got scorsese doing his... i’m gonna call it his best attempt at capturing the feel of russian lit. goncharov’s men are angry, explosive, and ultimately doomed. fated to die, unable to avoid How Things Are; the narrow limitations of their own understanding what is acceptable masculinity and what is not means they stay children, playing at war.
(and while scorsese is always gonna scorsese when it comes to the women in his films, katya and sofia make out better than most. i’m endlessly impressed with the way ofmd improved on that foundation; the vibe between those two isn’t NOT hiding in plain sight between mary and evelyn in ofmd, i’m js)
leaving the somewhat flimsy overall politics of goncharov aside, it does a pretty good job handling the overall ‘these expectations are actually killing more people than ice picks’ thrust.
i think it’s really interesting how the oranges in ofmd function as sort of... depending on how you look at it, love/family/growth beat, especially when we look at katya’s attempts to reach out and make the best of a marriage of convenience and how that calls back to some of mary’s efforts in the flashbacks we see in e4.
it’s not the same orange, but it IS? somehow?
because like, look: i wouldn’t say this was an intentional creative choice from scorsese, but like every huge interpersonal problem in goncharov could be solved if the narrative just... let people be gay?
(this is semi-joking oversimplification. i get that letting a scene about eating anchovy or gelato drop the subtext and just be about oral sex does not actually solve world hunger, but also. only semi-joking.)
katya attempts to use her family’s enforcers to obtain sustenance; and by that sustenance, eventually obtain love.
it’s poison fruit/poison tree.
...you know, in a way i think the emotional equivalent to stede and ed and the orange in goncharov is actually the gelato scene, and the oranges in goncharov are actually an inversion of the orange in ofmd. especially since i totally forgot until now that we get that lingering shot of katya’s oranges sitting out in that weird glass bowl until the housekeeper throws them away, which... probably there’s some class stuff to be said about that bit too, but for now i’m obsessed with how when you keep that in mind, no WONDER we get the petrified orange in ofmd.
katya didn’t go get those oranges herself; they were obtained impersonally and i think ultimately foreshadow the end of the movie. they’re food that could have been eaten by someone who actually ...you know, wanted oranges at all, wasted on a marriage that was over before it ever began.
and then we have stede’s orange, impervious to rot and time and representing a family that became a real family for the first time ever on stede’s final departure, because they let go of the old expectations for what family (and love) even means and also stede’s love for ed and the crew, etc etc etc.
ugh. u g h. the 4d chess the ofmd writers play here splitting themes and characters so we get the oranges in a different context and through different food is so amazing. no 1:1′s!!! what a galaxy brained bunch of bastards. hate them.
anyway i’m sure there’s a bunch more here (and i didn’t even yell about how ofmd takes the borderline nihilistic commentary on time in goncharov and spins it into a show that insists no literally: if you’re alive, there’s still time. you can always change which is like... so, so perfect) but yeah!!!! i agree, i think the parallels are unmistakable.
#this dumb dumb meme i LOVE IT i love this ask i love this website#very srs analysis about a very real film here (aka: this is a joke. if you see this and you missed the initial madness... i'm sorry)#goncharov the musical should be our next meme
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Your newest story!! Omg!!
Aegon I looking down from Targ heaven with Luke like…ye let’s wrap this up…our involvement in the long night is cancelled.
Rhaenyra and Helaena ending the same way on the spikes. Oh I know Alicent went from visiting her in her chambers every night (unwanted) to sleeping in Rhaenyras chambers long after she was gone.
I understand he needed to get rid of threats but now he won’t have an heir at all. I can’t imagine him taking well to anyone implying Luke can’t give him his heir however. So people are just waiting for him to die. Like the realm will tear itself apart to try rule after him. He really is mad.
Is Anne’s mam really still seeing Alicent as this paragon of the Seven and blaming Luke on aemonds shit?? The call is coming from inside the house sis. Alicent directly fanned the flames of this obsession. Luke was a corpse at the tourney right? Or is that pre-stormsend?
Do you see Lucemond as canon in this fic or is this delulumond in full force?
Thanks so much for sharing with us!!
Aegon I is so fed up after seeing each one of his descendants wiped out while the last man standing has lost his mind to such an extreme degree that he’s violating his other descendants corpse. Visenya is pissed off that Aemond’s gross hands are touching all over her sword and Rhaena is just like “damn, maybe we shouldn’t have come to Westeros.” Meanwhile Luke is sitting in the corner trying to figure out how all this happened? Rhaenyra keeps trying to console him but he’s too busy attempting to string together the events that led to his uncle becoming this damn crazy.
Babes, if Alicent was going to do anything she was going to seek Rhaenyra out nightly. Even though there came a point where Nyra stopped screaming and crying and just went radio silent until hearing the news about her last two babies deaths and deciding there was nothing left to live for. Alicent is so in love and exceptionally delulu just like her son that in her mind, Rhaenyra only jumped out of that window because she knew it would hurt her. Most insane mother-son duo in history me thinks.
The chances of Aemond having an heir are zero at this point. There’s not even a chance that Dany will be born to bring back the dragons because that dude isn’t laying down with anyone but Luke, you hear me? And its not even just because his shattered mind somehow thinks he can simply have a baby with Luke/refuses to cheat on his queen, but that no woman would ever sleep with him knowing what they do. They’d likely off themselves before they could even make it to the sept (very understandable)
Though this won’t stop his council from trying to work out something behind Aemond’s back. It comes to the point where one of his men is like “what if we drug him with an aphrodisiac and try to find a noble lady who’s willing to…you know? Then kill him after the child is born in secret? Twins are common for them so we might have an heir and a spare or a future king and queen.” But the idea is so outrageous with so many plot-holes and chances to go wrong that everyone just slowly begins to accept the war that’ll break out over the crown once Aemond croaks. Only thing they can do is hope they’re long dead once that time comes because the thought of another civil war is so draining.
In a last ditch effort his hand goes digging around with hopes that at least one of the deceased Targ men have a living bastard that they could legitimize but comes up empty handed. All Aegons died tragically, Jace was obviously too busy in Cregan’s company to go out and sire a child, Daemon only had Nettles who they can’t even confirm was his daughter + she’s been missing since the war, Daeron was a nerd who would rather pray at the sept, and Viserys could barely wipe his own ass in his last days let alone find the energy to cheat.
It’s heartbreaking when you think about because literally everyone, including Alicent is just waiting for Aemond to go to sleep and never wake up.
Lol, Anne’s mom is my favorite because she’s somehow more obsessed with Alicent than Alicent was with Rhaenyra which is such a hard thing to accomplish that she kinda deserves a medal?? Her character is simply an embodiment of parasocial relationships and viewing the monarchy as these figures who are above everyone else. Appointed by the gods and all that nonsense. And yes, the tourney was pre Storms end!
Hmmm, personally I see it as a mix of the two. Lucemond had feelings for each other (Aemond more than Luke) but never actually acted on them let alone reached the extent of what rumors suggest. Though certain points like them meeting up before the dinner failure to talk things out did happen but without the ‘making love’ part. However those are just my own thoughts because I intentionally left those details up to the reader.
Thanks babes, I always love hearing from you 🩷
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GW Characters - First Impressions
It’s this blog’s 4th birthday! 🎉
What does that mean? …Well, nothing really lol
Anyway let’s do this~ My possible first impressions of some GW characters!
Format:
What I Had Expected: what I thought the character would be
What I Got: what they actually are
Character Rating: completely subjective scale on how much I like the character
Heero
What I Had Expected: Protagonist with an inexplicable wardrobe who probably had Feelings™ once before Tragedy Struck
What I Got: what the fuck is his body even made of and why do his death threats start to sound cute after awhile? Also, I didn’t sign up for dead puppies but then again neither did Heero so I guess we’re both wrecked
Character Rating: 4/5, docked a point because he wasted a perfectly good pineapple
Relena
What I Had Expected: Naive Good Girl teaches the Protagonist the meaning of love and life
What I Got: Barbie Princess who will rule the world with pacifism and has questionable taste in men so we always know she’s only human
Character Rating: 10/5, best character development in the series and also Gotta Love Pink
Duo
What I Had Expected: fun, lovable character that will teach Heero the Power of Friendship and will die horribly mid-series
What I Got: fun, lovable character that teaches Heero the Power of Friendship who Survives™ at the heavy cost of being bashed (physically or verbally) by pretty much every other major character
Character Rating: 100/5, I hope he gets the appreciation he deserves and a very long, very nice vacation
Trowa
What I Had Expected: the Quiet One whose every utterance has deep meaning
What I Got: Clown animal whisperer who has a lot of skills that are in no way related to his background of mercenary work. Also, he’s the iconic disaster gay because he’s Extra and yet has perpetual RBF
Character Rating: I don’t remember and neither does Trowa
Quatre
What I Had Expected: the sweet character that goes through some Dark Stuff, mentally breaks down and then commits war crimes
What I Got: well well well, what do you know...
Character Rating: 5/5 for effort, but 4/5 for the Zero System effort
Wufei
What I Had Expected: chill but still practically a stereotype that drops valuable life advice when the Protagonist needs it
What I Got: zero chill hyena-terrorizer with a dash of misogyny so that I can never relax when he’s on-screen whose sole profession seems to either be trying (and failing) to kill Treize or passive-aggressively calling his allies stupid
Character Rating: 3/5, would have been better if he’d gotten his ass kicked by at least one of the women. if he were real we would be frenemies
Treize
What I Had Expected: narcissistic asshole master strategist whose goal is either Power or Chaos
What I Got: almost all of that except his goal was Peace and I spit up blood just thinking about how far his head was shoved up his ass
Character Rating: 1/5, was just happy he died tbh
Zechs
What I Had Expected: conflicted anti-hero who started as a villain in the beginning but eventually joins the protagonist’s side
What I Got: the exact opposite of that holy shit
Character Rating: 2/5, I wanted less of him and more of his girlfriend. Noin bb I can treat you better
#I will not be taking criticism on this post#heero yuy#duo maxwell#trowa barton#quatre raberba winner#wufei chang#relena darlian#relena peacecraft#zechs merquise#treize khushrenada#gundam wing#gw meme
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Heyyoo! Saw that you answered an ask regarding of Ground Zero, and I am very impressed of how you explained each chapters 👀
With curiosity, I want to know if you have any hcs regarding of backstories of some certain Kings, mainly Habari and Kagutsu?
Heya! Glad you enjoyed my incohorent ramble haha
Headcanon time? *rubs hands* You asked for it Anon.
I hc Habari to be a social butterfly in any stage of his life. He’s a cutest baby, charming toddler, playful kid, attractive teen, charismatic King. Like Munakata, I can imagine him having a normal family, was genius and over archiever too, but he doesn’t have Munakata’s awkwardness at human interaction. He was totally being animal and kids’ magnet, while Munakata’s aura draws them away (poor my King 😭). I know that makes Habari looks like a Gary Stu, but to be fair his narrative foil is literal human nuclear. Also, he was an only child, judging by his interaction with Shiotsu and Minato twins, I can’t see him having a sibling before. Zenjou was kinda.. his pet? Like serious their backstory is him finding Zenjou in a mountain and like “You’re mine now” and Zenjou dutifully followed him. He also has Blue King’s classic cryptic tendencies, but weirdly only Shiotsu and some people outside Blue clan that got annoyed with him, while others like Zenjou and Minato couple are happily don’t know and don’t care what he was talking about. He would adore Kusuhara and Kusuhara would ADORE him.
Blue clan in general have sparkly hair disease but Habari washed his fabulous locks 4 times a day with Scepter 4 special blend of shampoo. Minato twins skipped this ritual and always refused to bathe, that’s why their hairs are suck. Remember Habari’s crop top uniform? Shiotsu persuaded him to change it, with painstaking effort. And we all should be grateful for him, because that outfit is honestly horrible. Well, at least for me. Habari loves minimalistic clothes and would hate cloak, that’s for sure.
I don’t think Habari’s sword’s name is ever mentioned (cmiiw) but Chainsaw Squad is a RAD name so Habari is also gifted with Blue King’s great sense at naming.
For Kagutsu, as I said before, it's hard for me to even see him as a person, so I can't quite imagine him as toddler, kid, or any other stage of human life except "adult and ready to erupt". But looking at how Purgatory activity and members so far weirdly attentive to women problem for a criminal organization, like freeing human trafficking women, speaking about Akio’s death highly, even one of Purgatory clansmen willingly marry a pregnant woman to help her, I kinda hc Kagutsu to have a woman he loved in the past. In this I am talking about love in broad sense, either romantic or platonic, so like mother, sister, girlfriend or else.
This segment in particular intrigued me :
Kagutsu that day was in a good mood. He took two women with him when he returned from outside, but of course, that was not the reason he was in a good mood. It always happens that Kagutsu likes women. There are a certain number of women who like dangerous men, but if it is too dangerous, some survival instinct will cause a mistake. They are happily hugged by Kagutsu and turn into corpses of joy.
LIMITED KINGSHIP, WAR STORIES: CHAPTER 5: DRUNK WITH THE KING
Yeah technically he murdered those women, but the segment clearly shows that they CONSENTED to embrace Kagutsu, Dunno if those women know that they will die in the process, but hey, Icarus amirite? It’s in their desire to like dangerous man. Also, probably just language disparities, but “hugged” is quite a weirdly innocent word to portray the last collision between a man and women?
This is so interesting for me because, actually, the writer didn’t have to do that. Kagutsu was portrayed and designed to be Pure Evil Villain who is better died, so not very jarring if they wrote Kagutsu to forcefully drag women and kill them for his own amusement. Heck, they wrote a poor clansman was purely in terror on Kagutsu’s presence in the same chapter! Yet Gora put emphasis that those women were HAPPY on the short moments they spent with Kagutsu. So, at the very least, Kagutsu is not a rapist. Also he was totally down to raid gangs that trafficked women. This trivia pushes my headcanon button but also frustrate me because so far we never get a proper interaction between any characters with Kagutsu without the said character noting how inhuman he is and how they completely don’t understand him. Like if no one inside the story can understand him, how can I? My hands are tied here 😰
#k project#kagutsu genji#habari jin#I think we need more POV of Kagutsu or about Kagutsu#because so far all of his description is 'natural disaster 101'#yes ye Kagutsu Crater foreshadowing I KNOW#but more info about him as a person would be nice#I forgot this is official manga or doujin but#I remember a manga about Kusuhara and Habari#smiled with each other in the afterlife?#if any of you know the panel I am talking about#please tell me#because I forgot where it came from haha
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Avatar: Legend of Korra Fanfiction - Korra x OC Male Reader.
(DISCLAIMER’S: I DON’T OWN THE LEGEND OF KORRA IP OR IT’S CHARACTERS! & THIS IS A NON CANON FANFICTION THAT ISN’T CONSTRAINED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL AVATAR LOK CANON & ANY ATTEMPT’S TO SILENCE THIS FANFIC IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF MY FREE SPEECH RIGHT’S!)
Chapter 6: Prison Break.
M/R’s POV:
I’m arriving home from the market after having to make a couple of stops to “Buy” supplies for my mother just in time for dinner. Being completely exhausted & hungry as I reached out to open the door a light breeze pushed it open enough for me to realise the door has been broken into I dropped my groceries rushed into the house looking around only to see that shadow figure jump out the window & my mother is collapsing to the floor I rushed over to her shouting “NO NO NO NO NOO!.. DON’T THI-STAY WITH ME MUM!” She then grabbed me by the throat & started choking me saying “You let me die, You let me DIE!” She then slowly turned into the short haired woman in Water Tribe clothing with bright glowing blue eyes while proceeding to shout at me with a loud demonic distorted voice . “YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LEFT ME HERE” “I’M SORR!-“ (choking noises) “ALONE TO DIE! NOW YOU DIE!..” then a bright light shoots out of her eyes then everything goes white then I burst awake in a cold sweat realising that it’s just another nightmare, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, breathed a sigh of relief & quietly said to myself “Another day, another set of push ups.-” *clang* *shouting & rapid footsteps* I start hearing a commotion going on above me *large gusts of wind blowing sounds* (Explosions) *rock crackling* (“GET BACK INTO YOUR CELL!”) *smash smash* (Cell Door collapsing) *thud* (choking In unbearable pain “AAARRRGH!..”) At this point I’m starting to panic *clang* (“Survive!..” *SNAP* “NOOOOooo!..”) *smack* (“DIIE BASTARD!..” *SMASH*) I then hear nearly guards on my floor repeatedly shouting “STAND DOWN!” “WE SAID STAND DOWN!” ( “STAND DOWN KID!” “DON’T DO IT!” *SMASH* *SPLASSH* *BLOOD SPLATTERS ACROSS MY FACE*) Then the guards said “GRAT! Alright men looks like we’ve been out manoeuvred, TODAYS A GOOD DAY TO DIE!” *pulls out his sword* “No sir, I feel like it’s time to retreat. There’s no shame in throwing in the towel after giving zero effort.” “NO! It HAS to be TODAY, for our ancestors CHARGE!..” then they started running away from my cell towards the source of the commotion. I then hear *WHOOSH!* “ARRGH!..” *BANG* “W-WAIT WAIT ..WAIT! ALRIGHT, YOU WIN THE OTHER PRISONER’S THROUGH THAT DOOR JUST LET PLEASE LET ME GO! I’M NO THREAT!”- *WHACK* *THUD* then I heard an unfamiliar voice remark “Pathetic..” Then the food hatch slides open with my usual morning meal if you can even call it a meal sliding in & he says “Eat up, you’re going to need your strength.” As I reluctantly started eating he proceeded to say “Soon the Civilisations of the World will be free from it’s self imposed shackles & if I’m going to do that I’m going to need loyal followers & if you’ve managed to end up in here then that means you’ve got the potential for true greatness but only if you join me..” This man then looks through the small hatch only to see me aggravatingly looking back at him staring into his soul.. *angrily grunting*
He then takes a step back away from hatch as he says “Hm, Shame. All the same I’ve unlocked your cell, and he guards have all been taken care of, so don’t you waste this opportunity for a second chance at life & If you ever change your mind & want to be on the right side of history, come find me.”
He then leaves I quickly finish my food & once I’m certain that I’m alone i opened the cell door seeing the fruits of my rescuer’s labour all the guards in cell block are knocked out cold as I trying to find my way to the exit I started to smell fresh air for the first time in soo long, I finally see the exit & as I stepped outside into the sunlight I finally saw myself properly for the first time since I was first locked up in this horrible place.
-Just pretend that’s it’s your face-
“How long was I locked up inside that cursed cell? I must’ve lost YEARS OF MY LIFE TO THIS PLACE! I guess that would explain the ‘physical changes’ that I’ve been experiencing. I thought I was just sick..” I then looked around & also realised the Temple Prison has completely repaired since it was attacked sometime ago, as I’m approaching the bridge entrance I see the memorial dedicated to Rick at the base of it I see his old Metalbending wire launcher he used when he died as picked it up to closely inspect it I see something else & a wave of grief & guilt washed over me I dropped to my knees as my eyes welled up as I started reading the stone plack at the base of his statue “To the Hero of all Heroes, a man who died in the line of duty protecting his family In service to the White Lotus. May the Spirits guide you in the eternal afterlife Rick L/N.” “Rick’s my ..F-Father?!” (“Mummy everyone else has dad do I have one?” “Why yes you do little champ.” “What was like?” “He was stubborn, kind, a hell of a detective & definitely a huge smart ass just like you” “Why isn’t he here?” she then looks away for moment with a sad look on her face before looking back with a smile “Because he’s the type person who doesn’t give up, he just goes on doing the right thing. Even if- *her eyes well up* *Sniffs* even if it takes him away from his own family but don’t worry you’ll get to meet him someday, I promise….”) I hold the wire launcher close as I start crying harder than I ever have before. “AAAAAARRRRGGGHH!….”
Guard’s POV:
As the child’s cries echoed throughout the mountainside the guards locked up in the cell nearby wake up they see what’s going on & recognises that cry the cries of a child mourning their parents & look on in horror at the realisation that they’ve locked up an innocent child, as they watch on the kid sees them & looks at Rick’s Memorial Statue
M/R’S POV:
After a while I realise that I’m being watched by the locked up guards I look back at the statue & I stood up & made my way to the cell the guards backed away not knowing what I’d do only to be confused when I unlocked the cell door & said “You were my farther’s family, wouldn’t want you all to be locked away in a Prison Cell.” Which puts the guards at ease, as I turn away to leave a guard asks “Where will go?” “Somewhere that you can’t find me..” I then set off across the prison bridge to get off this damn mountain..
End of Chapter-
#male reader#fanfic#avatar#avatar korra#avatar lok#korra x reader#original character#revelation#prison#prison break
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🚀 💕 🦈 😎 💘 💡 💛 💌? (bwhahaha now it's your turn!)
oh man, that's not fair :3
🚀 Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?
if we're talking for big enough fics, then it's a bit of a secret third thing actually: i start out just writing scenes as they come to me, but about half-way through realize i need the plot to make actual goddamn sense, so then i make some sort of an outline and structure for it all.
💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?
not to be cliche, but it really is a bit like picking a favourite child. if i absolutely have to, i guess i'll say Reflections, if only 'cause, with it getting next to zero engagement both on ff.net and ao3, i can safely say no one loves it more than me))
🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?
surprisingly enough, it's probably Connor. with how earnest and troubled he is, it's very easy to slide into cheap wangst when writing him, and i always had to do a lot of editing for his scenes to keep him from that tacky bullshit. also, back when i was writing mcu fic, Tony was always a challenge - his brash, witty, outgoing attitude is pretty much everything i'm not, so he always took extra effort to get right.
😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?
well, looking over my fics, kinda turns out they all fit into either of 2 categories: 1) AUs and canon divergences that wildly change the setting or the events of the canon, but keep the characterization as close to the original as i can manage; 2) painstaking canon compliance while exploring the canon at its saddest - or, as we call it in the biz, "no fix-its, we die like men"
💘 Is it easier to write angst or fluff?
in all honesty, both are pretty much equally hard. i have a serious penchant for cheap melodrama, and it takes a lot of effort for me to keep both the fluff from sliding into sappy mush, and the angst from devolving into whiny wallowing. and don't even get me started on the comedy.
💡How many WIPs do you currently have?
technically speaking, there are currently 12 WIPs on my drive, for almost as many fandoms, most of which have been there for years, and will probably never be finished. there are also 2 finished fics there that i just never published.
💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?
probably the fact that there's no one right way to do it, and that you really just gotta find your own way in it and do the best work you can do.
💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?
i don't think so? not consciously, anyway. does "happy ending" count as a trope? i really love doing happy endings.
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517.
Are you bothered by your cosmic insignificance?
Actually, I find it quite reassuring that my actions aren’t really that significant. I think I’d feel too much pressure otherwise.
Do you mourn for a place or person you’ve never known?
No.
Do you really think there is somebody for everybody?
No. It’s a nice idea but I don’t think the world works like that.
Do you place any value in gender roles?
Well, it depends what you mean by gender roles. I don’t think we do ourselves any favours by trying to pretend that men and women aren’t biologically different in some ways.
Do you have to be related to be family?
No.
Are your platonic relationships just as valuable as romantic or family ones?
I don’t really have any platonic friendships, but theoretically yes, sure.
Are you in love? Do you want to be?
Yes.
Do you think you can put love into categories (family, platonic, romantic, etc.) or is it just one general sensation?
I don’t really understand why you’d want to categorise an emotion like that.
Would you be happy with a life without romance?
Yeah, romance isn’t a huge deal to me.
Are you always going to be a little in love with somebody?
How can anyone possibly answer that for certain?
Would you change your appearance if you could?
Yeah, a few parts of it.
Do you have the feeling you’ve lost something you might have had in another life - whether it be a person, a place, a world, a language, etc.?
No.
Do you believe in reincarnation?
No.
Would you want to be reincarnated?
If I could choose what I was reincarnated as, sure.
Do you think you’re special, or just another person amongst billions? Can you be both?
I think everyone is special in that they’re unique, but we’re still just very small fish in a very, very large pond.
Do theoretical ethical debates have any value? Is it important people discuss ethical dilemmas, e.g. the trolley problem?
I mean, I guess they do to an extent, but they’re not for me.
Did you have imaginary friends? Do you still have them?
I did as a little kid, sure. I don’t as an adult.
Are you religious? Do you think your religion is ‘correct’?
No.
If you aren’t religious, do you wish you were? Why?
I mean, if I wanted to join a religion, I could. I have zero interest in it though as it makes absolutely no sense to me.
Do you want a grand adventure?
Not really - it sounds like a lot of effort lol.
Do you have somebody, whether it be a friend or stranger, who you think you could have loved if the circumstances were different?
It’s not really something I’ve ever thought about.
Do you think you really understand your gender and sexuality?
I don’t really think that there’s anything to understand.
How fluid is your concept of gender and sexuality?
I mean, I don’t understand the whole idea of people thinking they can change sex. You can’t change your biology - I know that’s a hugely unpopular view these days though so I don’t tend to talk about it real life much.
I mean, I have no issues with people wanting to have surgery to remove their genitals or whatever - you do you - but getting your penis removed doesn’t make you a woman - it makes you a man without a penis, lol. In terms of sexuality, people can be attracted to whoever they like as long as they’re not causing any harm.
What’s the most life-changing choice you’ve made so far?
Choosing to move up to Cumbria.
Are you afraid of growing old?
Old age doesn’t scare me, but getting dementia or something does.
Would you want to live forever? How about for a billion years, a million, a millennium, a century?
Not forever, but a century or so would be pretty cool.
Do you believe in some form of god/s?
No.
Are your choices fated or of your own free will?
Hmm, I don’t believe in fate but equally I don’t think anyone has true free will as we’re all restricted by the society we live in in some ways.
Do you have a hunch about how you’re going to die?
No.
Do you believe in star signs?
No.
How old do you have to be to be considered an adult?
Well, in the UK you become an adult at eighteen.
Was your childhood happy?
My young childhood was, yes. My teenage years were a bit of a rollercoaster though.
What are you missing from your life?
Money lol.
Have you ever met someone who had a very similar personality to your own? Did you get along?
Yeah, generally we got along fine.
Do opposites attract?
In some ways, yes.
Is your life what you expected it would be five years ago?
Nope. I had absolutely no idea this is how my life would turn out but I’m really grateful that it HAS turned out like this.
Do you know what you want out of life?
I just want to be happy.
What makes a person ‘good’? Are you a ‘good person’?
I don’t think there’s any one definition of being a good person.
What fundamentally matters to you?
Happiness, loyalty, honesty.
Is freewill an illusion?
Yes, definitely. Like, we’re hugely influenced by how we’re raised and the society that we live in - plus we can’t just do whatever we want without considering the impact - so we’re restricted by money and time and other people etc.
Do you create art? How do you define art?
No.
How often do you lie? Is all lying inherently bad? Are you generally truthful?
I don’t really pay attention to that kind of thing but I’m not someone who thinks lying is some kind of moral failure, necessarily.
Do you want to be remembered after your death? What for?
I don’t really care about how I’m remembered - I mean, I’ll be dead, I’ll have absolutely no idea what people think or say about me.
Is true world peace ever possible?
No.
Do you have to suffer to truly understand the human condition? What is the human condition? How can you really experience it?
Bleh.
Are you free? Will you ever be? Can anyone be truly free?
I’m as free as I feel I can be within the confines of society. I run my own business so I can pick my hours and my clients. I don’t have children so I’m not restricted in that sense either.
Do you hold yourself to higher standards than you hold others?
Sometimes.
What do you expect from a friend or partner?
Honesty, loyalty, hard work, support.
What question could you ask to find out the most about a person?
That depends on the person.
Do you justify all your beliefs or have you just inherited/absorbed some?
I really don’t feel like I need to justify any of my beliefs.
Which beliefs do you have that is most likely to be wrong?
If I felt like they were wrong, I wouldn’t believe them?
Can humans really understand the complete nature of the universe, space and time?
I don’t really think anyone can.
Is a consciousness what makes someone a person?
No. Otherwise you’re implying that someone in a coma is no longer a person?
What do you think about artificial intelligence?
It’s really interesting to me, but I totally get why it freaks people out.
Do you thinks humans are obsessed with escapism (books, video games, movies, etc.)? Are you looking for an escape? Do you think that’s a bad thing?
I don’t think we’re obsessed as such, but I can totally understand why people find it so interesting and fascinating. I think it only becomes a bad thing when it starts interfering with your relationships and your job, etc.
Are we eventually going to ‘run out’ of new combinations for music, art, language, etc.? Is there a limit to human creativity?
No, I don’t think so, because society is always changing and we’re always discovering new things.
What do you think the next era of music will be like?
Who knows.
What do you think the next era of fashion will be like?
....
Do we live in tumultuous times, or do they just seem so strange because we’re living in them?
I still find it really weird that we’ve lived through global lockdowns and a pandemic - like, I remember learning about the plague at school and thinking how scary it must be, but in real life it just felt so normal, lol. Now it all feels like some kind of weird fever dream.
Would you want to meet a clone of yourself? Would you like them?
I’d like to meet them, but I’m not sure if I’d like them.
How confident are you, really?
I’m very confident on my own, but not so much around other people.
How consistent is your perception of time?
I mean, consistent enough, I guess.
What age should people be allowed to vote? Should children and teenagers be allowed to vote?
I think eighteen is fine.
How do you feel about the idea ‘an eye for an eye’?
I don’t agree with it.
What’s the worse thing a person can be?
I don’t know - probably some kind of child or animal torturer.
How do you feel about monogamy?
I don’t really have an opinion - I mean, as long as everyone is happy, I don’t feel as though it’s any of my business.
Can you be in love with someone and still fall in love with someone else?
Sure, I don’t see why love has to be restricted to just one person.
What’s the tragedy of your life?
What a bizarre way of viewing things.
Would your life make a good play?
I think it would be pretty boring lol.
Should people be prosecuted for crimes that weren’t considered crimes at the time?
No. You can’t retrospectively lock people up for stuff that was legal - that’s batshittery in the extreme.
Would you fight for your country? Do you feel a sense of loyalty to your nation?
No and no.
Do you believe in gender equality in every aspect?
Well, it’s not possible for men and women to be truly equal - that’s just basic science.
Do we have a moral obligation to care for others? To what extent?
Hmm, I think we have an obligation to be polite to people.
Do you crave approval and/or praise?
I wouldn’t say I crave it, but I do enjoy it.
Is there comedy in all tragedy and tragedy in all comedy?
Yeah, I suppose so.
Are you ever going to be satisfied?
I am satisfied.
When you are sad, do you listen to music that conveys your emotions or music that makes you happy?
It depends whether I’m in the mood to wallow or whether I need to get out of whatever funk I’m in lol.
Is your music organised by mood or sensation or do you just listen to everything at any time?
It’s kind of organised by mood, I guess. Like, when I’m making playlists, I’ll pick one song then add songs that Spotify suggests and that I like.
Would you marry a friend if they needed you to (e.g. for citizenship)?
Hypothetically I might do, sure.
Are you a deep person?
I don’t think I’m any more/less deep than anyone else?
Given the chance to live your life on Mars, with no hope of returning to Earth but with the promise of scientific discovery and glory, would you take it?
No.
Are you who people think you are?
I don’t know what people think I am.
Do you think you would be happier if you had been born a different gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality or religion?
I have no idea. Nobody can say that for certain either way.
What’s your toxic trait? Are you trying to improve yourself and fix it?
I don’t really know.
Do you anger easily?
I don’t really get angry, but I am easily irritated.
Are you a jealous person?
Not really.
If you lost all your memories, would you have the same personality?
No.
Given the chance to reset your life (with none of the knowledge you currently have), would you take it?
Nope.
Is hate as strong as love? Who do you hate?
I don’t hate anyone.
Do you speak multiple languages? Which do you dream in? What language would you want to learn?
I speak two, but I always dream in England. I’d love to improve my Italian.
Do you draw meaning from your dreams, or do you disregard them?
No.
How would you describe yourself when you love? Do you love forcefully, unconditionally, gently, quietly, desperately?
Quietly.
Is unrequited love real love?
Sure.
Is your perception of yourself similar or the same to how others perceive you?
I have absolutely no idea.
Are you overly analytical?
I can be.
Do you ever feel that you are really a terrible person, and only act good out of societal or some other obligation?
No.
Do you believe in magic? Are you superstitious?
No and no.
What belief do you have that isn’t logically grounded, but you still firmly believe in?
I can’t really think of anything that’s particularly illogical.
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“Never Forget”
Regardless of where they currently live, most people are proud of their roots. They are proud of their culture, they are proud of their heritage, and they are proud of where they came from. In the melting pot that is the United States, this fact rings truer than anywhere else in the world – our holidays honor everything from the resilience of Native American tribes to the emancipation of slavery. We designate months of the year to draw attention to the equally important history of our nation’s most marginalized groups and celebrate their accomplishments. What happens though, when the legacy of a people– their struggles, their stories, their voices, continue to be drowned out by a louder, yet false narrative?
50 years after its conclusion, the bloody legacy of the Vietnam War continues to leave a stain on the conscience of the American public. Today, the popularly accepted “explanation” for America’s involvement in the war, or any of its more recent wars for that matter, is the following: the rich and powerful in America wanted *insert natural resource*, so they used western imperialism and colonialism to brutally murder people of color. The antiwar movement of the 1960s claimed to support the most marginalized members of society, who they argued were unfairly targeted by the draft. They claimed to support the people of Vietnam, who they argued were choking under the boot of Western imperialism. And yet, nothing could be further from the truth.
After Congress crumbled to antiwar pressure, the United States withdrew its troops from South Vietnam and cut off all assistance. Not long after, North Vietnam’s communist army conquered the South. Fleeing the persecution that came with a totalitarian communist regime, South Vietnamese men, women, and children sailed into the ocean in makeshift boats, facing not only the threat of the natural elements, but the possibility of capture. Many ships were robbed and raped by pirates. Of the 2 million refugees who would leave their occupied homeland searching for freedom and refuge, 500,000 would die at sea. Of the millions of South Vietnamese men and women who fought alongside America and its allies to defend their own country, 250,000 were killed, and the survivors were sent to forced labor camps. Many would never return.
Of the 2.7 million American soldiers who were deployed in Vietnam, 58,220 would lose their lives. Those who survived were forever disfigured, both mentally and physically. The same antiwar movement that claimed to advocate for their survival called them “baby killers” and spit on them like they were dirt, leaving the scarred veterans homeless on the streets to struggle with their post-traumatic stress disorder in the dysfunctional and incompetent institution known as Veterans Affairs.
During the war, 15 million Americans gathered at hundreds of anti-war demonstrations. When the dust settled, there were zero large-scale marches for the better treatment of veterans, or for the resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees.
And yet, despite all efforts to eradicate them, the people of South Vietnam and their descendants, still exist. In cities like San Jose and Los Angeles, commercial districts like “Little Saigon” proudly stand as a monument againstthe numerous obstacles that refugees and immigrants face coming to America. The diaspora of survivors opened their own businesses, started their own churches, and most importantly– they built their own schools. In doing so, they ensure that their culture, their language, their way of life, will never be forgotten. In doing so, they ensure that future generations will understand their struggles to reach this land, learn their stories of survival, and hear their voice of defiance, so that their children may never forget.
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The Funeral Rites of Clone Troopers: Conclusions
☾❖☽ <The psychological and spiritual preparations for death pre-war>☾❖☽ <What happens to the body of dead clone trooper [part 1] [part2] ☾❖☽ Conclusions
Conclusions
The important thing to remember about burial rites is that dead do not bury themselves. Thus analyzing funeral practices of the Great Army of the Republic is as much about what happens to the remains of clones as about living who took care of their burials. Keeping that truth in mind, let’s summarize the gained knowledge.
There are still plenty of things about life and death of clone troopers not explained in great detail but there is enough data to assume that GAR in fact did take care of its deceased if there was time and possibility to do so. Interestingly, the presented examples lean towards giving to each fallen individual grave. It is hard to tell if GAR practiced mass graves or not, but this possibility can’t be crossed out as with a great number of killed, a mass grave is more practical and faster solution in field conditions than burying each trooper separately (alternativy, the clone remains could be cremated but that seems more likely happen in space medcentres or to those killed on Coruscant, closer to the end of war). Then again, with little exceptions, it seems like the graves were dug mainly by the clones themselves so they may willingly put additional effort in paying their respect to fallen comrades.
Another important thing, usually the graves were marked somehow - not with names or numbers but by stones or weapons stuck in the ground, quite often with empty helmets put on it. Considering how clones had a very unique and close dependence with their equipment - something that kept them literally alive during battles - and how weapons and armor were the closest things to their personal possession, the gesture definitely had a hidden meaning. Even more so, as leaving behind equipment was against protocols yet clones intentionally left the armors and guns belonging to the dead if it was a possible choice.
Personally I tend to see it as leaving the grave good although I’m not sure if the majority of clones believed in the afterlife or even wanted to be part of one at all. Then again, clone commandos trained by Mandalorian instructors inherited the idea of “Manda” and some clone veterans liked to adopt “practices of a local warrior culture” among other things (Collapse of the Republic - Star Wars Roleplaying Sourcebook)
thus the religious faith of clones for sure wasn’t unified as it might seem at the first glance.
Additionally, sources do not indicate there was any solemn ceremony or last rites performed by the living beside the common(?) phrase “From water we're born, in fire we die. We seed the stars” [Cestus Deception] or alternatively, mandalorian ritual words "Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum," [RC: True Colors] in case of clone commandos trained by Mandalorians. No words of pathos about fulfilling the sense of clone’s life even though from the birth clones were taught "It is the proudest duty of a trooper to serve and seek a good death". What indicates the shift in clones’ self perception. The constant contact with death changed the mindset of people dehumanized to believe just because they were bred for war they were expendable (“We’re just clones sir. We’re meant to be expendable.” TCW S01E02: ‘Rising Malevolence’) into men who willingly put an effort to leave tangible proof of their comrades’s existence. The skeletal graves are one of the most lasting burials thus are
A) definitely solid proof of someone’s existence and
B) community’s effort to honor the fallen.
Which is especially an interesting aspect of clone culture that developed during war as a direct result of their new experiences. At least between those clones whose dehumanized view of themselves was challenged and proved wrong.
Looking at the presented source material, one may wonder why sergeant Clanky from the Republic Commando: Triple Zero book claimed that clone troopers weren’t given a proper burial. It is even more surprising as various examples outright say or clearly imply the GAR in fact had a number of protocols for handling the remains of dead soldiers and logically thinking, Clanky should be aware of these. So, why did he give such a contradicting answer when asked about the issue?
The likely possibility is that Clanky’s statement comes from his own experiences. For context, the Triple Zero book, according to the second chapter, started on the 367th day after Geonosis while in the first year of war the Republic had a great number of casualties. For example, half of 10.000 clone commandos “were killed in the first few months of the war, largely due to being deployed initially by inexperienced generals as infantry troops rather than as Special Forces” (Making the man: Selection and training [Star Wars Insider 84])
while clones in general faced a wide range of dehumanization around that time:
In the initial stages of the war, clone troopers were treated no differently from the war machines they piloted or the weapons they fired. To many they had more in common with battle droids poured by the tens of thousands from Baktoid Armor Workshops on a host of Separatist-held worlds.
But attitudes began to shift as more and more troopers died. The clones’ unfaltering dedication to the Republic, and to the Jedi, showed them to be true comrades in arms, and deserving of all the respect and compassion they were now afforded. It was the Jedi themselves, in addition to other progressive thinking officials in the Republic, who had urged that second - and third-generation troopers be given names rather than numbers, to foster a growing fellowship. (Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno)
Once the Republic adjusted to having a clone army and changed its military tactics, the casualties were reduced but if Clanky took part in ill-fated campaigns in which the army for whatever reason couldn’t recover and bury the dead, then his statement makes sense as it represents the clone’s unique war experiences. After all, not all bodies could be recovered from battlefields or space battles; sometimes the Republic army was forced to retreat in a hurry so the dead were left behind. This especially was a more common occurrence with ARCs and clone commandos as they worked alone or in small groups deep behind enemy lines and couldn’t be burdened by carrying the corpses. As was shown in Honor Bound (Star Wars Tales 22)
"Leave the dead. Take their ammunition. Leave all non-essential equipment behind too - we're moving fast and light."
A good example of the undertaken change is clone commando Darman. After the Battle of Geonosis, when his brothers didn’t show up at evac point and didn’t report they are alive and well, the commando was upset but didn’t argue with superiors to let him recover the bodies.
But there was still no sign of the rest of his squad. Darman knew that there was no point in waiting any longer. They hadn't called in. Maybe they had comlink failures. Maybe they had made it onto another gunship.
It was the first time in his artificially short life that Darman hadn't been able to reach out and touch the men he had been raised with.
He waited half a standard hour more anyway, until the gunships became less frequent and the lines of troopers became shorter. Eventually there was nobody standing on the desert plain but him, the Duros loadmaster, and half a dozen clone troopers. It was the last lift of the day.
"You better come now, sir," the loadmaster said. "There's nobody unaccounted for. Nobody alive, anyway."
Darman looked around the horizon one last time, still feeling as if he were turning his back on someone reaching out to him.
"I'm coming," he said, and brought up the rear of the line. As the gunship lifted, he watched the swirling dust, dwindling rock formations, and scattered shrinking patches of scrub until Geonosis became a blur of dull red.
He could still search the Implacable. It wasn't over yet.
[...]
"I'm okay, sir," he said. "Sir, RC-one-one-three-six. I'm not in shock. I'm fine." He paused. Nobody else was going to call him by his squad nickname-Darman-again. They were all dead, he knew it. Jay, Vin, Taler. He just knew. "Sir, any news of RC-one-one-three-five-"
"No," said the commander, who had obviously heard similar questions every time he stopped to check. He gestured with the small bar in his hand. "If they're not in casevac or listed on this sweep, then they didn't make it."
It was stupid to ask. Darman should have known better. Clone troopers-and especially Republic commandos-just got on with the job. That was their sole purpose. And they were lucky, their training sergeant had told them; outside, in the ordinary world, every being from every species in the galaxy fretted about their purpose in life, searching for meaning. A clone didn't need to. Clones knew. They had been perfected for their role, and doubt need never trouble them.
Darman had never known what doubt was until now. No amount of training had prepared him for this.
[Republic Commando: Hard Contact by Karen Traviss]
However on 477th day after Geonosis, after killing two clones in self-defense (who mistook RC-1136 for a deserter they were supposed to kill), his feelings about leaving the bodies without any proper burial are drastically different, to the point he even worried that alien locals could dig the bodies and eat it, as they used to do so with the dead members of their community.
The bodies of the two covert ops troopers were much heavier than Darman expected.
The wait for Niner and Fi to show up-two hours-was the longest of his life, and every creak and click made him think the Eyat police were surrounding the apartment. When his brothers finally arrived, he felt inexplicably guilty, as if he had to explain himself.
Niner stood staring down at the two troopers.
"Have you tidied them up, Dar?"
Darman had done his best. Apart from the damage to the one he'd shot in the face, they both looked quite peaceful now. They looked like him, but dead-and he was having a hard time dealing with that. Their arms were neatly at their sides, legs straight.
"I felt bad leaving them lying around like meat. What are we going to do with them?"
Fi shrugged. "Can't leave them here as air fresheners ..."
"Fi, they're our own." Darman couldn't bear looking at the faces any longer, and grabbed a blanket from the bedroom. "We have to dispose of them properly."
"We've got their armor," Fi said. "Sergeant Kal will want the tallies. He's funny about that."
"Okay, let me put it another way-what if that was your carcass lying there? What would you want done with it?"
"I'd want someone to shake their head and say, What a waste of such a fine-looking and stylish young man! and then give me a big state funeral," Fi said, taking the blanket out of Darman's hands and rolling one of the covert ops troopers in it. "With loads of women weeping that they never had the chance to sample my charms. But apart from that, I wouldn't give a mott's backside by then, would I? It's just a temporary shell. Only the armor lasts."
Niner sneaked a glance out of the window. "It'll be dark in an hour or so. We'll take them back to camp and bury them. Dispose of the armor somewhere remote."
"And tell the lizards not to dig them up and eat them."
"Dar, Marks don't eat other sentients. Just their own dead."
"Oh, that's all right, then."
"Dar, these guys tried to kill you..."
"No, they came for Sull, Sarge, and that's just what you were ready to do not so long ago-remember?" Darman had no problem killing. It was his job, he'd grown used to it, and he didn't even get the bad feelings and nightmares afterward that they said humans usually had. But he'd killed his own comrades, not an enemy. The circumstances didn't make him feel any better. "I don't think I could ever go after my own like that, no matter what. Not unless it was personal and they'd done something terrible to me."
He realized he was blathering. Even Fi gave him an odd look. Niner bundled the second trooper into a blanket, and Darman helped him. The dead troopers' muscles hadn't stiffened yet, and when Darman bent one of them over, the movement forced the air from the man's lungs; he emitted a distressing sighing noise that made him sound as if he'd come back to life. Darman had seen some unpleasant things in battle, but that moment was seared into his memory as one he knew he'd never forget.
By the time the bodies were trussed with fibercord, they could have passed for lumpy carpets in bad lighting.
"A'den's been told that the assault on Eyat is probably going to be in a week's time," Niner said, seeming unconcerned. "So it wouldn't matter if we left them here."
"No, we bury them."
"Okay, okay."
"I mean it."
"Dar, am I arguing?"
It would have made more sense to run; the longer they waited here, the more at risk they were. It wasn't hot outside, and with the environment controls in the apartment turned right down and the windows sealed, it might have been a couple of weeks before the neighbors smelled that anything was amiss.
But that wasn't good enough, even if they had been sent to shoot Sull.
[Republic Commando: True Colors by Karen Traviss]
Another example supporting the possibility that Clanky’s statement was tied to still fresh and strong belief that clones were meant to be expendable (thus the usual lack of burial) comes from The Clone Wars issue 7: In the service of the Republic part 1 in which clone captain Sharp questioned Jedi Generals Kit Fisto and Plo Koon’s decision to halt the mission to help bury locals killed by Separatist. He literally asked the Jedi “what is the difference where those bodies freeze?” considering the act as a waste of time.
Of course, the lack of empathy toward killed civilians (naturally born people) does not automatically means those clones would lack the empathy toward their own fallen comrades yet as Sharp said himself, when his superior, captain Kendal Ozzel gives the clones a new assignment, he tells them to finish the mission or don’t come back.
Considering that Ozzel’s view of clones is that the Republic always can make more of them,
it is easy to imagine that clones dehumanized by their officers won’t have the same empathy for the dead as those surrounded by kinder people - or alternatively, more touched by the constant death of the widely understood clone brothers.
(A side note, Sharp’s lack of empathy for the death of civilians is actually an interesting aspect to ponder more. The source material has examples of clones attending Jedi funerals but I don’t remember any particular scene in which clones buried naturally born people out of their respect or good will? In the above example, Sharp and his men helped bury the dead so they could move with the mission, not really because they deeply cared for the poor native locals. Clones probably did help to bury non-cloned soldiers fighting side by side with them during battles when GAR had time to take care of the KIA troopers (Jabiim maybe?) but to personally care to dig graves for civilians? Nothing comes to my mind at this moment).
My general conclusion about funeral rites of clone troopers is that there is a correlation between their empathy for the dead and how they were treated by the Jedi or the Republic officers and citizens. There is a visible shift from the dehumanized view of themselves and their worth that clones were taught at Kamino, as clones were deeply influenced by their new war experiences and constant contact with death. And it really speaks a lot about clones that their preferred burial was the skeletal one. Because as much as it was the fastest and most practical choice (it is easier to dig a hole in the ground than prepare a proper funeral pyre after all) the skeletal grave is also the most durable one and in theory at least, possible to find despite the passing time, thus creating a solid proof of someone’s existence. Especially for those buried in armor that A) will last for decades if not ages and B) may have the owner's number encoded somewhere for identification (an equivalent for real-life dog tag). Which is an interesting contrast to the “From water you are born, in fire you die. Your bodies seed the stars” belief from Kamino as skeletal burial seems to be the total opposite of it.
#star wars#clone troopers#funeral rities of clone troopers#my analyze#i finally finished this hell yeah!#to be honest i would need more data to analyze it but i think it is still a solid ground for my conclusions
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As soon as requested this trophy be his before these guys die and we agree it's a good idea it's a trophy that's given to electric vehicle designers and manufacturers and really it's for people who produce them successfully and it's for making a vehicle that is usable. They used to be more usable and had decent mileage now they're kind of ruined that but it's so easy fix and people still do it what's a nuisance you want to be able to buy parts and have a factory that works for you not you working for the factory it's a disaster now but we agree he should have that award these people are nasty nuisances and now they're going to face an army and going to be destroyed and because of their arrogance their idiocy and they're blatant disregard for whatever anyone else is doing or can do or will do. They have absolutely zero discipline and they're going to learn that it's a huge huge mistake the woman spend hours getting ready to see our son getting ready to do something right and these threats and it's pretty crappy but it's not really easy to see and I'm not using their men that much and I'll tell you what they put it in effort to keep him around they found out he's a baby and started treating him like one and it worked and it still works but these men are heinous they're very evil and very mean and he deserves this award and I'm going to try and get it to him I don't think they're writing anyway for treating him like they do and they're going to pay for it these people are rude little losers and they have to be treated like soon they'll be gone and the women hate them for it they're saying it today we're going to take them on the entire empire pretty much alone mostly us out there and you're stupid and you're saying stuff back you don't have to partake in it you don't have to have anything from it we're going to be the winners and we're going to get rid of you and some of the men are dying from what they're saying these women know to take it seriously. And a lot of them do and by the way Trump your days are numbered reading a lot of these women want to get rid of you and they really should you're a huge moron this should have gotten rid of you long time ago you're just a faggit
Thor Freya it's really a good idea and I like it and Hera likes it too and if you can't hang on to it she can grab it with a character and I'll add it to things that he's going to have all these awards of his design awards that they gave out cuz people are fruitcase okay they're freaking mean and they're stupid they didn't have no idea is a sentient being and thinks all the time and he says the riddle is quite simple they're extremely stupid they don't have their own ideas and all they do is run around and take people's ideas so I don't think someone else near them would even have one and he's not big so they don't think anything of it and if he was bigger more so we see a situation and if he gets big now they'll think it's hormones from the water because they're imbeciles even though by then most of the people will be dead from the bugs cuz they're going to have to attack up north as true that they've gone up there with huge armies because of the caverns it's going to be quite a show we don't think that will last long the rest of the world is going to have to keep the max in check and then back to the clones it's going to happen momentarily and these assholes are going to regret every stupid comment and we don't think they're going anywhere and the morons can't figure it out
Olympus you are a very stupid people you don't know your place in any way meaning you don't know the status and you don't know what can happen you like the pseudo empire to the empire it might take a day or two or three days and you'll have all sorts of laughter and chortling but by the end of that time it'll be too late for you to stop laughing cuz you'll be all gone
I can't stand you at all I went to college and university and you were there and seemed like you were learning something but I don't think you can learn anything and he's right you're so dumb you can't tell that he's smart you think he's cheating somehow he's running around telling you to f*** off you don't do anything cuz you think he might be smart I mean you're horrifically stupid you try to make him look stupid all the time and it doesn't work it's getting inventions of his and using them cuz it's the only way they can get anything and you think that is stupid this whole clan's gone and practically your kind of his race and sitting there like nothing happened and you can't figure it out you think it's some sort of game please pretty soon you'll think it's against you by the max a bunch of will and you'll be killed ironically by the max a lot of people know he's smart like will and Bill who try and say it's them not him and you should at least know that game but you're so stupid you don't so he's in trouble so I'm sending in hell
Hera
So we're going to send in some help and we're coming right now and we do hear what they're saying and thier morons. They're saying he's ours we're going to kidnap him and use them against you and that kind of stuff and it's already here trapped so we have to keep him from getting kidnapped because these pseudo empire is going to be out shortly they are going after them and they're going to make war on them and they will probably defeat them here and the rings will dissolve. Right now they're at the 25th ring and their amounts of attack shortly they are at the first ring with 50 households out of 100 remaining and they have about a million people and they are going after hardware and they have taken some last night and they do have a sizable army from Miami but they do not have the right armament again and we'll be wiped out and they're going to be facing some spaceships people are thinking of letting some in to try and stop there little ships and other and they're pestering everybody of their own and everybody else here and we think they probably will at least on the east side eventually they're going to try and get Tommy f out of here and it'll be a fight but that s*** has to know there's more stuff too but it's all going to be happening in the next few days so we are moving in with a force and several of them because of what's happening here it's heated up and these people are getting way too ornery and excited
Savage Oppress
Hahaha
Zues
I know I was laughing and it's terrible and terrifying we are way too big for our britches this empire and we've looking at it now and the data is gigantic and we're right up front just wear other people said we would be and he said it this morning you're on point just like everybody told you and you tried to fight it and there you are right where you said you wouldn't be and here we are and we should know what that means
Bja
Olympus
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Once Upon A Time
Chapter 1
Summary: This starts at the beginning of TRR book 2 with the Fydelia ball but with a different series of events. This AU is based off the show Once Upon a Time with Riley and Liam mirroring Snow and Charming. Characters belong to Pixelberry.
A/N: This is my FIRST EVER post and it’s literal trash 😅 I’ve never written before I found you all, and I’ve never had so much fun reading all the stories I found. If you read this please know I’m a complete rookie and I have no idea what I’m doing haha. I welcome and encourage any thoughts and feedback!
A/N 2: my biggest thank you’s to @queenrileyrose and @bbrandy2002 for pre-reading and giving me endless boosts of confidence!!! This first ever, cherry popping post, is in honor of you ❤️
Warnings: This will contain NSFW adult language and content. By reading, you acknowledge you are 18 and over.
I’m tagging those I’ve connected with and thought would be interested. Please let me know if you do or don’t want to be tagged!
@burnsoslow @ao719 @kat-tia801 @callmeellabella @charlotteg234 @neotericthemis
The welcome ball had been exhausting. Riley finally saw them, all of them, the good and the bad. Mostly bad with Liam being the exception.. except the fact that with him came his stupid fiancée. She was forced to deal with the Penelope’s and Kiara’s of the court, and got none of the Olivia’s and Drake’s of the world, with Olivia blackmailed and Drake most likely avoiding the court. Majority of the conversations she had to deal with throughout the night consisted of her rebutting all the allegations against her, most people believing that she had jilted their king. At least she had Maxwell and Bertrand, her home away from home. With the maybe two seconds she had Liam to herself and the amount of work and effort she had to put into her first public appearance, she was completely drained and changed from a gown and into more comfortable leggings and tank after she got back to her room of the Fydelia estate. Just as she was decompressing from the stress of her night, there was a knock on the door. She opened the door to see a particular grin on the face of one Maxwell Beaumont carrying a vase of two dozen roses.
“Greetings, little blossom! One of the staff members stopped me on the way of delivering these, asking what room you were in and I insisted on catching you myself.” Maxwell invited himself into her room after handing her the arrangement. Riley pressed the roses to her nose, inhaling the beautiful scent, and she noticed a note wrapped around one of the stems. She unwrapped the note and turned to Maxwell, who had already cozied himself up on her bed, clearly excited to hear what was on the note. “I noticed the paper in the arrangement too, it’s clearly from Liam isn’t it? You did so great tonight and he had the biggest puppy dog eyes on you, I knew his Prince Charming ass would pull off something like this.. well, go on! Read it!”
Riley quickly unwrapped and read Liam’s note, she had no idea the girlish grin she had plastered on and Maxwell was beaming. He had hated these past few weeks so much, he had been watching one of his closest friends, his makeshift sister, live in desperate torment, questioning her worth after hearing nothing from those she cared most about. She put the roses down and placed the note down next to them and looked up at Maxwell, “He wants me to meet him on his balcony in 20 minutes..”
“That is charmingly romantic, but did he slip in his royal socks and tumble down Madeleine’s overly buffed stairs?? He’s clear across the estate, it’s way too dangerous for you to get out of here alone.”
Riley sighed and collapsed onto the bed with Maxwell, “I don’t know Max, his note is sweet and remorseful, but.. maybe this isn’t about getting back together.. maybe I should just focus on helping house Beaumont and getting home..”
Maxwell stretched across to Riley and smacked her across her head, “Come on, Riles! You have been unable to go a single day without asking about him.. at least twice a day! You NEED to go meet him, otherwise I think both of your little fairy tale hearts will die.”
Riley smirked and rolled her eyes, “You’re so dramatic! And please tell me what fairy tale involved a half nude photo scandal and public humiliation leading to a bullshit engagement between a king and the only ice queen that would rival both Olivia and Elsa while singing let it go? Plus, didn’t you just mention that it’d be too dangerous for me to get to him?”
“Hellooooooo?? Ok first of all, literally all fairy tales are structured that way, couple meets and falls in love, and a public enemy curses them with a dramatic, heartbreaking lie, and then they defile all enemies and live happily ever after.. you’re just living the 21st century version of that! Nudes are basically the most vanilla scandal these days anyway. And secondly, have you JUST met mr covert ops extraordinaire, Maxwell Beaumont!? I said it’d be too dangerous for you to go out alone. Let’s just simply walk out together, and if we get any questions, we can just say we’re meeting my brother for.. you know.. this and that diplomacy reason.. whatever, I’ll wing it. Plus, look at you, you’re already dressed for stealth. I just need to get you outside, and then you can scamper over to Liam’s side of the building. Whaddya say, blossom?”
Riley was exhilarated. Maxwell always knew how to say the right things. She locked eyes with him, pointed straight to his chest and said, “You son of a bitch, I’m in.” They shared a mischievous smile and giggled their way out of her room, totally giddy without even shutting the door all the way. They were completely unaware of the royal guard that had been manning her room and slipped inside.
Thanks to Maxwell, Riley had successfully snuck out of the estate and crept to below the balcony of Liam’s room. She had to think fast as to how the hell she’d get up there, and then she spotted the flower vine growing on a trellis against the building, and she let out a small victorious, “Yes!”
But as soon as she took a step in that direction, a hand grabbed her shoulder and jerked her around so she was facing one of the royal guards. “I don’t think so, lady Riley,” he put a heavy sarcastic emphasis on the term lady, as he was clearly disgusted by her newfound tarnished reputation. “You’re coming with us.”
“Us?” And then from behind her, another guard bagged her head and she felt the grip of two men on each of her arms as they forced her to their destination, practically dragging her as they went. Riley’s heart was thundering in her chest. Where were they taking her? Back to the airport? A jail cell? A dungeon? A firing squad? She wasn’t at all expecting what she got. She was sat on a decently comfortable chair. The guards removed the bag and revealed to see she was in a study. A large one. And there before her on the opposite end of a mighty desk, was the king father, Constantine.
Constantine nodded a dismal to both the guards, and they took their leave. “Well, well. If it isn’t the disgraced American.” Riley was utterly confused and could feel the former kings command in the mood of the room. He did not like her, and she could feel his dislike radiating off of him. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you, you foolish girl?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“You had your exit, your out. You were scandled. Ostracized! I even had you as far as at the airport gates. But no, you came back. You came back and left me back at square one on how to get rid of you!”
Realization dawned to her, “It was YOU!” Riley leapt to her feet. She felt no fear, only anger coursing through her. “YOU staged those photos, YOU unleashed Tariq on me.. and you timed the release of those photos, at the most prime time allowing maximum humiliation and zero time in between Liam’s announcement. You’re despicable, I bet you’re even disappointed that Tariq’s attack on me didn’t end.. didn’t end up the way he planned.” She had deliberately slowed her speech as each new revelation came to play in her head, she had lowered her voice with disdain and disgust.
Constantine let out a scoff-laugh at what he considered to be a poor attempt of exerting dominance. “You’re right, and quite honestly I don’t care what that pompous buffoon would have done to you, but I must say, those pictures certainly did deliver.” Constantine was teasing and patronizing her, “And now you’re here, still trying to get to my son.”
Riley crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him, “I don’t know what you’re tal-“
“Enough. I know everything.” He waved in front of her the very note that Liam had written inviting her to his balcony that he got from one of the guards. “You poisoned his heart, and now his marriage. And with that, the entire kingdom is poisoned, all because your feelings.” He spit the last word out as if he found it vile.
“I wish feelings could be helped, but they can’t.”
“Of course they can. Love is a disease, and like all diseases, it can be vanquished in one of two ways. A cure, or death.” Constantine stood and leaned both of his palms flat on the surface of the desk. “Do you know where your beloved is right now? He’s right down that hallway, he should be packing for his new life, prepared to take on his engagement tour to unify two Cordonian houses and assume the responsibilities and sacrifices it takes to be king. But no.. He’s pining for you. Awaiting your arrival.”
“And I suppose you intend to keep him that way? Waiting for me, only to be rejected, never knowing I came for him?” Riley’s voice was desperate, but still cunning in reality. She needed him to know her questionnaire was not doubtful, but challenging. That she hated his deliberate intentions.
“No. In fact, you’re gonna walk down that hallway. You’re gonna sneak in and tell him you got his note,” Constantine slid the note across the table, no longer wanting it in his possession, and Riley picked it up. “You’re gonna tell him why you answered his call.. Because you don’t love him. It’ll break his heart.. And that will cure him.”
Wide eyed, Riley could only assume the consequence if she didn’t do as he said, “Or you’ll kill me.” She stated with no question in her mind.
“Oh no. I’ll kill him. Killing you would only make him love you more. And the marriage and kingdom would ultimately crumble.”
“And what about your precious Madeleine? I know how this works this is all about mergers and business transactions. How else would you get Godfrey and his house to join with yours?”
“Please, if Liam were to die at an assassin’s hand, he would die a martyr. Godfrey would forgive, even laud, the death. And the merger would be complete.”
“You would do that to your own son?”
“I’m doing it FOR my son.” Love was once Constantine's weakness and it led to Eleanor’s death. It scarred him and he became brainwashed. Convinced love was the enemy. And now, the product of his foolish love, was Liam, who he groomed to be the perfect king. Constantine applauded himself all these years. It was clear as day that even Leo knew the job belonged to Liam, so Constantine did everything to assuage any of Liam’s hesitation into taking on his duty. He always planned on Liam being the logical one, ready to take on the duty and a loveless union. Then that damn New York trip happened. And that damn Riley came in the picture. Immediately Constantine couldn’t tell if he actually hated Riley, or if he hated the idea that Riley was basically the new version of Eleanor that he’d never have.
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For the ask game, how about Kyburi?
okay, YES
favorite thing about them
Kyburi is full of hate and like, that's her whole character and I love that about her. normally such a one-dimensional character could fall flat or bother me but like, her entire character is that she's Agura's female counterpart and she is full of spite. she cares for nothing and no on except maybe Krytus, send tweet
also, goes without saying the the energy-draining claws are pretty cool
least favorite thing about them
I guess that her car is pretty much an exact replica of the Tangler? Adding two more wheels does not make it a new car @ screenwriters for BF5. Obviously they have to be counterparts and it makes for some killer fight scenes but I feel like they could have put a little more effort into it. they did a decent job making unique counterpart vehicles for the rest of the RS5 (except maybe Krylox). but to be fair, the fangs and stealth mode are pretty cool, like can we get this for our girl Agura pls and thnx
favorite line
she calls Tezz "electric boy" in "Found! and Lost" and that absolutely kills me. also, anytime she calls her teammates fools. this woman has no chill and even less patience and I love her for it
brOTP
IMO Kyburi is way too volatile of a person to have a brOTP. You're either someone she would kill for, or you serve a functional purpose in her life and she deems that acceptable but will give zero fucks if you live or die (@ kytren, krylox & kyrosys, sorry boys)
Like, there are no brOTPs in Kyburi's life; you're either her ride or die or it's her world and you're just living in it and she'll allow that for now™
OTP
Krytus/Kyburi (Krytburi). See the random headcannon section for a whole explainer on this as I wrote an entire fic around how these two get together, but like, Krytus and Kyburi definitely fuck. In Shadow Runners, when he yells at her to "never call me weak again," you know he said that because he meant it but also for the hate sex. literally the Multiverse's hottest and most emotionally volatile couple
nOTP
Kyburi/Krylox for no reason other than Krylox is a himbo and Kyburi cannot put up with that energy, like she would drain Krylox in t-minus .5 seconds if they were ever stuck in the same room together
(I did not intend this to be a Krylox hate post but whoops it turned into one)
random headcanon
bad news for anyone who thought they were getting into a short post because I have a whole fic written around this! It's called Eternity & you can find it here but here are some bullet points from it
-Kyburi grew up on the streets of Modulon 5 as an orphan, right as tension between the Reds and Blues was getting to an all-time high
-She has a little sister named Kiry who she'd literally do anything to protect but she hates just about everyone else
-When their parents died, Sage's parents took in Kyburi's Blue twin. (Kiry's Blue twin didn't survive childbirth, which is also what killed their mother). But they didn't take in Kyburi or Kiry because sentiment against Reds was so bad at the time, so Kyburi was left to fend for herself and her baby sister, which is why she hates Blues so much. she has major trust issues and a LOT of them stem from this incident
-Krytus eventually finds her when she's living on the streets of Modulon 5; they fall in love and move to the Red Sentient planet to join the revolution. Krytus essentially saves her and from that moment on it's her and Krytus against the world
-Red Sentients still have pretty traditional gender roles, so the men fight in the revolution while she starts working in the hospital and is tasked with healing Kytren, who's addicted to a Red Sentient street drug (hence the fragmented speech). this gives her a soft spot for Kytren but there will always be a part of her that thinks he's weak because they went through similar traumas and she overcame hers while he turned to drugs. she has slightly more patience with him than the rest of her teammates but only a smidge because again, she's Kyburi and she hates, I repeat, everything
unpopular opinion
I don't think I have one unless there's someone out there who disagrees with the fact that Kyburi is a certified one-dimensional bad bitch
song i associate with them
"Girls in the Hood" by Megan Thee Stallion because it has bad bitch energy. also because she is literally a hot girl.
also Experiment on Me by Halsey (from the Birds of Prey soundtrack) because the whole song is just angry screaming and that also matches Kyburi's energy
The TL;DR for this entire post is that Kyburi is just one angry lady
favorite picture of them
low-quality but this shot of her in Deep Freeze. a queen & her throne
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